Since the ancient Greeks coined the phrase the “dog days of summer”, the time from late July to late August has been known in the northern hemisphere for its humid, almost oppressive heat without any breeze in the air to bring any sense of relief. While global warming may have turned summer into something more like spring in some parts of the world or brought July heat waves in others, the month of August is frequently a time when hot weather, lack of rain and stagnant, polluted air keeps many with asthma trapped inside.

When Are Asthma Attacks Most Likely To Occur?

For the 10% to 15% of the population of countries like the UK, US, and Canada and Australia that are afflicted by Asthma, summer air quality with high ozone levels and high levels of dust and smoke particles in the air are a recipe for flare-ups. However the poor environmental conditions are not a guarantee of problems, but because the risks of a flare-up can be severe, most conscientious asthma sufferers will take it easy when going outside or will avoid going outside altogether.

From the results of even the latest research, medical science has no way to predict under what circumstance individuals will experience asthma attacks. The results of a comprehensive 10 American city study of more than 500 adolescents with well managed-asthma found that none of the many medical assessment tests was able to predict when individuals might experience an attack. The result of these findings is that caution is still very much a part of limiting the number of attacks that asthma sufferers will face.

How Can People Reduce The Risks Of An Asthma Attack?

Asthma Attacks Are More Common Among Those Who Are Obese

While research cannot yet predict the situation to cause the next attack in an asthma sufferer, several factors do put individuals at risk of developing asthma. In research from last fall, researchers at Kaiser Permanente found that those who were obese were 5 times more likely to be hospitalized for asthma and found that 1 in 3 people with asthma could be considered obese. Now while the cause and effect from this research may be hard to determine, it is likely safe to say that trying to manage one’s weight is a good idea that may prevent the development of asthma.